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Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, Michelle Forbes, Sierra Pecheur ... see more see more... , Gregory "Mars" Martin , Judson Vaughn , David Rose , John Dullaghan , Lois Hall , Ron Kuhlman , Catherine Larson , Brett Rice , John Zarchen , Pat Golden , Patricia Sill , Carol Lewis , Meredith Brasher , David Milford , Eric Stenson , Mary Ann Hagen

This debut feature film from music video director Dominic Sena is a romp through the world of serial killing, which in its bleakness and moral bankruptcy looks backwards to Terrence Malick's Badlands ... read more read more...and forward to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Michelle Forbes plays hip, Mapplethorpe-esque photographer Carrie Laughlin, who wants to move to California for a fresh start. Her boyfriend, Brian Kessler (David Duchovny), is a writer who has an idea for a new book, a travel tome on the sites of serial murders. The two plan to go on a cross-country tour of the murder sites, with Brian writing the commentary and Carrie taking the pictures. But they need a couple to share the driving expenses; enter Grayce (Brad Pitt) and his girlfriend, Adele (Juliette Lewis, in a warm-up for her role in Natural Born Killers). Grayce is an ex-con looking to jump parole, while Adele is a childlike naïf. Soon the four are off to California, but the yuppie couple doesn't realize how close they are to their serial killer topic. It seems Grayce has murdered his landlord before their trip and bodies begin piling up disturbingly behind them as they make their way across the country. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Flixster Users

62% liked it

45,041 ratings

Critics

67% liked it

24 critics

R, 2 hr. 5 min.

Directed by: Dominic Sena

Release Date: September 3, 1993

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DVD Release Date: October 28, 1997

Stats: 1,656 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,656)

  • ironclad1609
    January 16, 2012
    ironclad1609
    Very few people would dare to question Brad Pitt's versatility today. That was different in the early 90s, when he was still underestimated as just another pretty face. Undeservedly so, as this early work in his oeuvre shows. He has hardly ever been as menacing, unpredictable and... read more merciless as in this thriller about an author taking a road trip to famous murder sites and sharing gas costs with a white trash couple. As brilliant as Pitt is, he is even outshined by Juliette Lewis as dumb but sweet bimbo. As the trip turns more and more into a nightmare for the yuppie couple, the violence is ruthless, realistic and ugly, as in real life. While our protagonist ("Mulder" David Duchovny) is looking for an explanation for the mindset of serial killers, the film has no answers to the questions of the their motifs. Which just makes it even more unpleasant and important. Well done.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    September 8, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Fear never travels alone

    Good movie. It gets better as it goes along. Not only is the story very impressive, so is the acting from our four leads. Overall this is a very good and impressive psychological thriller with a very powerful story.

    Brian Kessler, a journalist researchi... read moreng serial killers, and his photographer girlfriend Carrie set out on a cross-country tour of the sites of the killings. Sharing the ride and their expenses are Early Grayce, a paroled white trash criminal, and his girlfriend Adele. As the trip progresses, Early begins to appear more and more unstable, and Brian and Carrie begin to fear that they may have a real-life killer in the back seat of their car.
  • murphmann93
    June 23, 2011
    murphmann93
    Really great film. Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis are excellent together and Brad Pitt really makes you shiver with his outstanding performance as a serial killer. David Duchovny also plays a great role, making empathetic towards him and rooting for him. Definitely a must see!
  • blkbomb
    May 31, 2011
    blkbomb
    Kalifornia is an amazing look at the lack of morals and guilt that a sociopathic killer has. Brad Pitt gives what I believe to be one of his best performances as killer Early Grayce. He transforms himself into a haunting portrait of a deranged serial killer. The movie asks it's v... read moreiewers many questions throughout the movie through Early's actions. What is the reason for his madness? What is different from him and everyone else, that allows him to kill without remorse? Kalifornia openly asks these questions but never answers them, which is the right thing to do. We don't know what makes Early kill. He doesn't even know. At one point he's asked and his only response is,"Huh,huh." All we know is some people are inherently evil and Early is one of them.
  • 76Majikat
    September 23, 2010
    76Majikat
    Now here?s a film to challenge any Brad Pitt admirers out there, you can practically smell him in this film and that?s exactly the kind of roles I prefer him to play, also back when Juliette Lewis was at her unique best.

    David Duchovny's character gets more than he bargained f... read moreor, when his interest in Serial Killers become a little too close to home and a shared road trip that starts with a class divide and soon identifies the other different along the way.

    For nostalgia?s sake this is still one I watch over and over.
  • liquidchick76
    September 5, 2010
    liquidchick76
    A bit lacking in production, but an excellent story (not to mention a knockout performance by Brad Pitt).
  • fb619846742
    June 27, 2010
    fb619846742
    An unremittingly bleak, unforgettably disturbing, powerful piece of film concerning a writer and an artist (David Duchovny and Michelle Forbes, respectively) and a white trash couple (Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis) who carpool together across the USA in hopes of reaching Californi... read morea - where dreams come true. Only problem - writer Duchovny doesn't realize that one of the many serial killers he is trying to understand is sitting right in the back of his car. This is a movie that is anchored by four megawatt performances (including Juliette Lewis! An incredible shocker for me) and one that goes all-out in its jolting finale. This is by far the best work Brad Pitt has ever turned in, as he creates an uncompromisingly sadistic, shallow character that is so stripped of basic emotions he becomes more and more ferociously terrifying as the film proceeds. The movie falls in that dreaded territory of "good, but probably won't want to see it again due to how depressing it is", however. It is definitely not for everyone, but it is irrefutably an original, effectively made piece concerning a very dangerous (and all to seemingly real) character that won't exit your mind quickly by any means.
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    April 8, 2010
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "fear never travels alone"

    A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.

    REVIEW

    It is too bad that Pitt s... read moretopped playing maniacs - he has quite the propensity for it. Although Kalifornia is a low-budget psychological thriller that predates Silence of the Lambs, Seven, or Copycat, this movie offers much for the fan of the major actors or for the genre itself. Duchovny plays a writer who decides to visit major serial killer sites along his way to Los Angeles (sense trouble already?). Pitt and Juliette Lewis come along for the ride and offer Duchovny the live version of what he is trying to capture. Although the psychology is simple compared to later trips into this area (and the plot is relatively predictable), Kalifornia remains a disturbing production - the fear that our macabre interests may fulfill themselves.
  • Deano78
    January 29, 2010
    Deano78
    A decent thriller on the road film as a serial killer joins a couple cruising around the US looking at sites infamous with serial killers of the past. It has a strong cast, a little rough around the edges but Pitt will keep your interest until the end. Even if it isn't the greate... read morest plot for a thriller.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    December 1, 2009
    LoughnerWasLucid
    Brad Pitt plays pretty much the same character in Assasination of Jesse James except he has a cowboy hat. Nobody seemed to notice. only he could pull it off.

View All Kalifornia Reviews

Critic Reviews

James Kendrick
August 11, 2010
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

Brad Pitt's performance is crucial, and he rips into the character with a frightening sense of unhinged egomania, violently subverting the Redford-lite pretty-boy image with which so many wanted to as... Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
July 14, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

It's good-looking but unsubstantial. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
December 18, 2006
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

The movie begins extremely well before escalating into the inevitable Straw Dogs confrontation, when the sensitive-intellectual man discovers, just like Dustin Hoffman, that when push comes to shove, ... Full Review

Clint Morris
May 12, 2005
Clint Morris, Moviehole

An Absolutely riveting movie...Pitt is outstanding

Jonathan R. Perry
October 3, 2004
Jonathan R. Perry, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)

A gritty, haunting voyeur's peek into the human condition.

Rich Cline
June 12, 2004
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

Visually stylish, thematically creepy.

Brian Mckay
March 21, 2003
Brian Mckay, eFilmCritic.com

Pointless knock-off of NATURAL BORN KILLERS. Duchovny and Forbes both miscast and wasted. Juliette Lewis is annoying as ever.

Robert Roten
August 25, 2002
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope

Truly terrifying journey into madness.

Jeffrey Westhoff
July 26, 2002
Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Far more insightful than the similar but overblown Natural Born Killers.

Owen Gleiberman
September 7, 2011
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

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Kalifornia Trivia

  • name the actress who plays in all that movies. -From dusk till dawn -old school -Kalifornia -some girl   Answer »
  • Match the quote to the movie: "Early don't eat breakfast. He thinks it's a conspiracy put together by the cereal people."  Answer »
  • In which of these movies does Juliette Lewis say to Brad Pitt's character, "You're mean, Early!"  Answer »
  • What male lead played opposite Brad Pitt in Kalifornia?  Answer »
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